


Alternate Ending

by VanillaHorizon



Series: Zevwarden works [4]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Angst, Antiva (Dragon Age), F/M, Heavy Angst, I Made Myself Cry, Sacrifice, Sad and Sweet, Self-Sacrifice, Ultimate Sacrifice, ZevWarden Week, zevwarden week 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2019-06-11
Packaged: 2020-04-24 18:28:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19178962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VanillaHorizon/pseuds/VanillaHorizon
Summary: Written for day 7 of Zevwarden week 2019: Alternate Ending.What if his warden sacrificed herself for the world before he even had a chance to love her like she deserved to be loved.





	Alternate Ending

In the moments after the archdemon was defeated, Zevran saw the warden, his warden, laying there motionless and his heart broke, because he knew something wasn't right.

He scrambled to her side and quickly took off her gauntlet to check for a heartbeat, which he didn't find.

When he didn't, he felt tears come to his eyes, he was falling apart.

"Come, you can't be dead, Mi Amor," he whispered to the woman he was holding onto as his tears fell onto her lifeless, blood-splattered face.

"You should be ashamed of yourself, making an assassin cry," he told her as he tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Oh no." Leliana's voice sobbed before she fell down on her knees beside the elf, unable to believe her eyes.

Just at that time, Zevran felt a heavy hand land on his shoulder, "I am so sorry, Zevran." Alistair told him, trying his best not to fall apart either.

***

Zevran tried to hold it together for the service but he couldn't hold it together, no matter how hard he tried.

He kept replaying the night before the archdemon was slain in his head, that night he should've known something was wrong from the eagerness in her every move.

She held onto him as if it was their last night together, which she knew it was and she didn't even tell him.

Had he known she was going to die, he would've cherished every moment of that night all that much more.

Finally, as her brother and brother-in-arms started to recite a prayer for her, he left, unable to keep his emotions at bay any longer.

Before he could get far, Alistair caught up to him, "Wait, I have something for you." he called out, causing Zevran to quickly rub the tears off his cheeks.

"What is it?" he managed to ask, just then Alistair put a necklace in his hand, the very one his warden always wore.

"She'd probably want you to have something to remind you of her," Alistair told him.

Zevran couldn't bring himself to say anything for fear of losing what little composure he kept, but Alistair nodded knowingly anyway, "She liked you for some reason." he said before walking away without another word.

***

Not much later, Zevran was in the room he shared with the warden the night before, getting ready to leave for Antiva when Fergus Cousland knocked on the door.

"Come in," Zevran called, not really caring who it was at the door.

"You're Zevran, correct?" a voice called from the doorway.

He hummed an agreement as he busied himself gathering his weapons from various places around the room.

An odd silence followed for a few moments, "My sister, she left a letter, actually a lot of them if I'm to be truthful." Fergus told the elf, "She cared a lot for you." he finally said before grabbing something from the pouch on his hip.

"I think you should have this," he said as he held out a ring to the assassin, "It was my sisters," he added.

Most of that evening was spent talking about the warden.

Before Zevran left to go back to Antiva that night, Fergus gave him the journal he had seen his warden writing in every night at camp.

Inside, the pages were filled with letters, the letters Fergus told him about, they were mostly addressed to Fergus when the warden believed him dead.

Those letters were mostly about her companions and their travels, but others were about Zevran himself and how grateful she was to have him by her side.

***

Even several years later he still wore her ring bearing the Cousland family crest close to his heart on the very necklace she used to wear.

When his life came to an end, he did not meet the maker, but instead he found the woman he loved standing there waiting for him with a smile.


End file.
